Monday, November 30, 2009

Director Vipul Shah did a great experiment with Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan and Asin in the film London Dreams. There had been inspiration from Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus based on the lives of composers Mozart and Antonio Salieri.

Both Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan were friends in this film. They inherited musical genes from their ancestors. Music was there in their earlier generations. Ajay Devgan wanted to be a stage performer and fulfill the wishes of his grandfather which was unfulfilled. Salman Khan never took musical lessons of his father seriously. He wanted to be a person with a large heart.

Ajay Devgan created a band in London with Rannvijay Singh an Aditya Roy Kapoor. Ajay Devgan also brought Asin from a conservative South Indian family to London as she was very much fond of music. Salman Khan at that point of time only performed in marriages as singer.

Salman Khan was also brought to London to form his own band. Salman’s band became more popular than Ajay Devgan’s band. One of the reasons was due to Salman Khan’s capability of attracting the attention of the audience by his mannerisms. Ajay Devgan started envying Salman Khan as both of them loved Asin, and Asin developed attraction towards Salman Khan.

Ajay Devgan persuaded Salman Khan to get addicted to drugs and got him arrested. He also gave the information to media so that Salman Khan could be humiliated. When the opportunity was there to perform in Wembly Stadium, Ajay Devgan gave drugs to Salman Khan so that he failed to perform over there. But Salman Khan managed to get away from it and performed there. Ajay Devgan realized his guilt and confessed in the stadium about the evil acts he had committed against Salman Khan.

Due to all these the band London Dreams broke up and Salman Khan returned back to India. But Ajay Devgan’s uncle advised Ajay Devgan to go Salman’s house and repent about his misdeeds. He did it and after that both Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan joined London Dreams once again and made it successful.

The film had been produced by Vipul Shah and Paramjeet Singh. Shankar Ehsaan Loy had given fantastic music once again. The song “hai re hai re” became extremely popular even before the release of the film. The film has all the elements to end up being super hit film.

Renowned actress Asha Parekh made a very strange comment on Dilip Kumar. Her comment was reported in Times Of India on 29th November, 2009.

Asha Parekh was interviewed and asked that why did she never featured in any of the roles opposite Dilip Kumar during the 60s and 70s. She answered that she never acted opposite actors whom she did not like. She never liked Dilip Kumar and that was why she never acted opposite him. It can be mentioned that she acted opposite Shammi Kapoor in Dil Deke Dekho, Teesri Manzil, Jawan Muhobbat, etc., opposite Joy Mukherjee in Love In Tokyo, Ziddi, Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, etc., opposite Biswajeet in Mere Sanam, opposite Dharmender in Aya Sawan Jhumke and other films, opposite Manoj Kumar in Upkar, opposite Sunil Dutt in Hindustani, Chirag, Zakhmee, etc., opposite Jeetender in Carwan, opposite Rajesh Khanna in Kati Patang, Baharon Ki Sapne,etc. In that respect the statement sounded very strange and arbitrary. It either signified that Dilip Kumar was inferior to most of the actors mentioned above, or as personality he had traits which were not liked by heroines.

If we look back at the career of Tragedy King Dilip Kumar, we will agree that he had acted opposite almost all the leading actresses from the 40s to 70s. Other than Raj Kapoor no other actor survived for such a long period of time and acted opposite different actresses. Dilip Kumar acted opposite Madhubala in Sangdil, Amar, Mughal-i-Azam, etc., opposite Nimmi in Uran Khatola, opposite Nargis in Babul, Andaz, etc., opposite Meena Kumari in Footpath, Azad, Yahudi, Kohinoor, etc., opposite Vaijayantimala in Naya Daur, Madhumati, Paigaam, Ganga Jumna, Leader, Sunghursh, etc., opposite Wahida Rehman in Ram Aur Shyam, Aadmi and Dil Diya Dard Liya, etc., opposite Usha Kiran in Musafir, opposite Suchitra Sen in Devdas. The list can go on and even junior actresses like Leena Chandravarkar featured opposite Dilip Kumar in Bairaag, Sharmila Tagore featured opposite Dilip Kumar in Dastaan, his wife Saira Banu acted in Sagina, Gopi, etc. None of the actresses ever complained about Dilip Kumar’s character.

Dilip Kumar had remained an institution by himself. Actors ranging from Manoj Kumar, Rajender Kumar to Anil Kapoor and Sharukh Khan are absolute admirers of the legendary actor. Even Big B in an interview in DD India said he could not match Dilip Kumar’s personality in Shakti where both the giant actors faced each other. So as far as Dilip Kumar’s legacy in bollywood there is no shadow of doubt and any actor of any contemporary period had referred the style of dialogue throwing of Dilip Kumar while featuring in tragic sequences.

So Asha Parekh’s comment sounds absolutely baseless and full of prejudice. Viewers feel that Asha Parekh could have learned acting if she got a scope of acting opposite Dilip Kumar. The comment should be ignored and does not make any difference in the brand image of Dilip Kumar who is the only recipient of Nishan –i-Imtiaz award given by Pakistan other than Ex-Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Nicole Kidman, the successful actress of Hollywood films was born on 20th June, 1967, in Honululu, Hawaii. She started acting in Australian films and Television. Her notable roles included Five Mile Creek, BMX Bandits and Bush Christmas. She also acted in Emerald City and Bangkok Hilton.

Her performance in the film Dead Calm in 1989 attracted the attention of leading directors of Hollywood films and from that time she never looked back. She appeared opposite Tom Cruise in the film Days of Thunder in 1990 and in Ron Howard’s Far and Away in 1992.

In 1995, she acted in the successful film To Die for. She got critical acclamation and Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film. In 1998, she appeared opposite Sandra Bullock in the film Practical Magic. She even acted in a bold role in the film Eyes Wide Shut in the late 1990s opposite Tom Cruise, but the film faced criticism due to explicit nature of the sex scenes.

In 2001, Nicole Kidman showed her maturity in acting in her performance in the film Moulin Rouge. She received Academy Awards nomination for her performance in the film. In the film The Hours that was released in the next year, she played the landmark role of Virginia Woolf. She received Academy Award and Golden Globe award for her epic performance in the film.

Her other notable films included Dogville directed by Lars Von Trier, The Human Stain which was Anthony Hopkin’s adaptation of the grand novel of Philip Roth. She also acted in the film Cold Mountain. Even at an old age she kept her existence in Hollywood films intact by performing in films like The Interpreter and Bewitched.

There is no doubt that she had been one of the leading actresses of Hollywood films of the 90s. Her films should be restored and preserved.

In the mid-70s directors in Bengal experimented with masala films. Sayangsidha was an example of such type of films.

In that film Ranjit Mullick was the elder son of Satya Banerjee. He was the owner of huge amount of property but was given narcotics and remained abnormal. His younger brother was tutored by Utpal Dutt to whip his elder brother and exercise his right over the property of Satya Banerjee. Satya Banerjee’s first wife died. His second wife Chaya Devi neglected the elder son Ranjit Mullick.

Ranjit Mullick was married to the daughter of Kali Banerjee, that was Mithu Mukherjee. Mithu Mukherjee was very notorious in the village as she proved herself to be a dare devil character. Once she married Ranjit Mullick, she realized that there was nothing require wrong in him. He was beaten and terrorized, so became abnormal.

Mithu Mukherjee taught her to read and write after marriage. One day when his younger brother tried to whip him, she snatched the whip and whipped the younger brother instead. Satya Banerjee did not give his ancestral property to the younger son. So there was violence at the end of the film backed by Utpal Dutta. His men tried to kill Ranjit Mullick to allow the younger brother to be the absolute owner of the property after the death of Satya Banerjee.

They did not succeed in their attempt. The music composed by Nochiketa Ghosh was very impressive with hit songs of Manna Dey like “kichi michi kichi michi”, songs of Asha Bhosle like “mone hoy aaj aami”, etc. The performances of character artists in the film like Bhanu Banerjee were very impressive.

Bengali films shifted from the literature based classics to masala films in the late 70s. Sayangsiddha was remade in hindi with Jeetender playing the role of Ranjit Mullick and Hema Malini playing the role of Mithu Mukherjee.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Vidya Balan stormed into bollywood films with successful film Parineeta. She played the character of Parineeta, the epic character of legendary writer Sarat Chandra Chatterji. Her performance opposite Saif Ai Khan and Sanjay Dutt charmed most of the viewers of bollywood.

She continued her dream run after giving a brilliant performance in the film Lage Raho Munnabhai. The film was related to Gandhigiri. Sanjay Dutt on one hand showed his level of maturity in comedy roles especially as Munnabhai. On the other hand Vidya Balan displayed her effortlessness in acting in the film. She played the role of a keeper of old age home, who faced the problem of being ousted from the place by Boman Irani. Sanjay Dutt used his Gandhigiri to convince Boman Irani was adamant. Vidya Balan’s dialogue good morning Mumbai as radio jockey and lips in the song “pal pal pal pal” amused the viewers.

After the success of Lage Raho Munnabahi, Vidya Balan got offers to act in many films like Bhoolbhulaiya, Hey Babby, etc. In Bhool Bhulaiya she even succeeded to play the role of ghost in the film Bhoolbhulaiya opposite Akshay Kumar. But to her ill luck none of these films did great business and her demand in bollywood films started decreasing.

A big section of viewers believe that ultramodern make up does not suit Vidya Balan and wherever she tried to play those roles they were not accepted by the audience at all. The best example was Hey Babby. She played the role of a girl who had settled in Australia. She came to India to attend a wedding where she got attached with Akshay Kumar. The subject relating to the little child of Vidya Balan had promise, but Vidya Balan’s make up did not help her.

The other films like Kismat Connection opposite Shahid Kapoor also did not do well in the box-office. Some way or the other she is not there in the number one spot in bollywood which is shared by Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra.She requires a super hit film very soon to stay in the competition. There is lot of expectation from the film Paa. Already the viewers are anxious to see Big B with a strange make up in a role of a 13 year old child. Paa can change the destiny of Vidya Balan. Let us hope it does well.

Director Dilip Ray experimented with epic literature of Bengal’s literary giant Samaresh Bose titled Amrito Kumbher Sandhane. The film was based on the experience of visiting Kumbh Mela in Prayag Sangam in Allahabad. It was probably the last film where Sudhin Dasgupta composed music mostly which included bhajans and bayul songs.

Subhendu Chatterji played the role of the observer in the film. He was a writer and related the stories of different individuals who travelled with him. He observed the story of Bhanu Banerjee, who had a daughter, who left the house with her girl friend and never returned back. Bhanu searched for her in Allahabad.

He witnessed the story of George Becker, who was a sadhu, then married Sanghamitra and left the life of ascetic. But she left him and became a baijee in Benaras and again returned back to Allahabad as a devotee. Anup Kumar was a bayul, who went to Prayag for giving holy dip in the sangam of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. But at the holy time for bathing in Prayag, there was immense rush and got stamped and died.

Subhendu met a Bihari family of Pramod Ganguly and his three wives. The characters were played by Aparna Sen, Ruma Guha Thakurta and Lili Chakravarty. Their husband was old and infirm. He was taken to Prayag so that the holy dip can change his health. Instead he got stamped in the rush and died. All the three wives got back being widows.

At the time when everyone wanted to bath in Prayag, the naga sanyasis from different akhras created a mess, and the police and administration failed to stop the crowd and the unrest. It took away the lives of more than thousands of people and the rest returned back with injuries.

Samarash Bose attacked the unscientific belief in the minds of rural people in India that bathing in the holy waters of Prayag during Kumbh Mela can wash away all their evil and bring prosperity in life. His words were given expression by Subhendu Chatterji in the film he realized that Kumbh Mela hardly brought any happiness and prosperity, on the other hand took the lives of innocent people. But for uneducated population of the country the religious beliefs in their minds cannot be substituted by rational scientific thinking.

Dilip Ray was appreciated for his efforts to make a film on the brilliant subject and the film ended being very successful.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Rensil D Silva experimented with Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the film Kurbaan. Karan Johar produced the film with the backdrop of terrorism.

In the film Kareena Kapoor who previously lived in US returned to India after her father had cardiac arrest. Kareena Kapoor met with Saif Ali Khan when they were in Delhi University and fell in love with one another.

Kareena got a job in US and took Saif Ali Khan to US. She helped him to work as Professor of Islam in the same University where Kareena Kapoor worked. Kareena Kapoor developed intimacy with Dia Mirza, Vivek Oberoi and Nauheed Cyrusi. While Kareena Kapoor was pregnant she heard that Om Puri and others planned to blast the flight in which Dia Mirza was flying.

Kareena Kapoor later found out that Saif Ali Khan was involved in the same terrorist activity in which Om Puri and others were involved. Saif Ali Khan kept Kareena Kapoor under house arrest and threatened her that in case she disclosed anyone about the conspiracy, her father in India would be killed. The flight exploded and everyone in the flight were killed.

Vivek Oberoi joined the terrorist group with the mission of taking revenge against Om Puri, Saif Ali Khan and others. Om Puri preponed the plan of blasting three subway stations in New York. Ultimately Saif Ali Khan sacrificed his life to save Kareena Kapoor and the child in the mother’s womb.

The music composed by Salim Sulaiman was very impressive. The song “shukran allah” sung by Sonu Nigam, Salim Merchant and Shreya Ghoshal became superhit. The other songs like “dua”, “ali maula” all were very impressive.The critics fear one fact. Films based on terrorist activities did not do good business in the past. So obviously Kurbaan can face the heat in that respect. Otherwise the performance of Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri and Vivek Oberoi were excellent.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Sandip Ray had the huge challenge of satisfying the tastes of readers of Satyajit Ray’s detective stories while making the film Baksho Rahashya based on the epic literature of Satyajit Ray. Satyajit Ray previously made films based on Feluda stories including Sonar Kella and Joy Baba Felunath in the 70s.

Sandip Ray used a different team in the film Baksho Rahasya, with Sabyasachi Chakravarty playing the role of Feluda, Saswata Chatterji playing the role of Topse and Robi Ghosh playing the role of Lalmohan Ganguly (Jatuyu). Previously the roles were played by Soumitra Chatterji, Siddharta Chatterji and Santosh Dutta.

In this film Feluda had to go to Shimla from Kolkata to bring back the suitcase of Haradhon Banerjee that got interchanged in train. He had to give the suitcase to Mr. Dhameja and take Haradhon Banerjee’s suitcase in turn. Feluda, Topse and Jatayu travelled from Kolkata to New Delhi in flight. From there they boarded Kalka Mail and reached Shimla.

After exchanging the bag in Shimla, Feluda was attacked by Pradip Mukherjee, the relative of Haradhon Banerjee. He kept a diamond in a kodak’s empty filmbox, which he coloured. He attacked Feluda to get it back. Feluda showed his daringness to manage him and get the diamond back. He was assaulted with a boomerang thrown by Jatayu.

The other complication arose out of a manuscript of a Book written by writer Shambhucharan who was famous for writing stories based on travel experiences. The manuscript was stolen by Mr. Pakrasi, who knew its value and who typed most of it in his type writer, as the book was unpublished and Mr. Shambhucharan’s copyright ended. Feluda to the book and the manuscript away and returned it to Haradhan Banerjee.

Feluda was attacked a number of times in the film, one time at Pretoria Street, the other times in hotel in New Delhi. The shooting of Sandip Ray in the hills of Shimla and Kufri was excellent. Although Rabi Ghosh could not match the expectation created by Santosh Dutta in the role of Jatayu, Sabyasachi Chakravarty did a great job in the role of Feluda.

The film should be preserved with English sub-titles to reach Satyajit Ray’s literature the international audience.

Uttam Kumar’s Ami Se O Sakha was released in 1975 and created a great impact in the minds of the viewers. The director Mongol Chakravarty experimented with the literature of Ashutosh Mukherjee and the brilliant performances of the team of actors and actresses created a different dimension for the film.

Uttam Kumar belonged to a poor family in the family. His elder brother which was played by Uttam Kumar again with a different make up earned money by teaching students in the locality. One of such student Aroti Bhattacharya misbehaved with him, and her father thinking that the teacher had a bad character whipped him. Uttam Kumar’s brother turned insane and did spend the rest of the life in an asylum.

Uttam Kumar was brought up by Asitboron, the father of Anil Chatterji, who gave a new life to Uttam Kumar. Both Uttam Kumar and Anil Chatterji became doctors. They met Kaberi Bose, a writer in Lucknow and from that time got attached with her. Anil Chatterji married Kaberi Bose and all three of them remained friends. Anil Chatterji went abroad and returned to Kolkata and opened a nursing home.

Uttam Kumar met Aroti Bhattacharya, the wife of Tarun Kumar and ridiculed her in a party to take revenge about the ill-treatment done to his brother which compelled him to become insane. Uttam Kumar disclosed before Kaberi Bose about the entire event and the reasons for his action.

But Anil Chatterji got involved in unlawful practices. He took money for abortion of a child and the mother of the child died in the process. Uttam Kumar took Anil Chatterji’s blame on him and suffered imprisonment for seven years. He sacrificed his life to repay the contribution of Anil Chatterji’s father Asitboron who brought him up. Uttam Kumar lastly said he wanted to see a happy family of Anil Chatterji when he came out of prison, a family with a child.

The film was related to a serious subject and as such there was hardly any scope for songs. Even then Shyamal Mitra’s music was impressive. The two songs “emon sapna kokhone dekhini age” sung by Haimanti Shukhla and “ei hashi manay nato” sung by Shyamal Mitra were successful. Uttam Kumar, Anil Chatterji and Kaberi Bose were at their best in the film.

The film was remade with the title Bemisaal by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in the late 70s. The film did excellent business in bollywood. Amitabh Bacchan played the role of Uttam Kumar in that film, while Vinod Mehra played the role of Anil Chatterji in the film and Rakhee played the role of Kaberi Bose. Ami Se O Sakha was a clear example Kolkata’s dominance in All India films and for those reasons the film should be preserved and restored.

In that respect Ranbir Kapoor is blessed with good songs. He has acted in 4 films till now, namely Sawariya, Bacchna Aye Haseeno, Wake Up Sid, Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. All these films had very promising songs.

The songs “sawariya” and “jab se tume dekha” in the film Sawariya, had done great business inspite of the film not doing that well. The songs of the film Bacchna Aye Haseeno composed by Vishal Shekhar created storms. All the songs in the film became super hit.

The notable songs in Bachna Aye Haseeno included “khuda jane ke mai fida hoon”, “bacchna aye haseeno”, “ahista ahista”. The excellent lips of the actresses Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba had helped Ranbir Kapoor to maintain balance in the film. Besides, the exotic locations in the film were also appreciated by the viewers.

Wake Up Sid was a serious film and as such the music did not matter that much. Even then the music was very decent in the film. The performance of Konkona Sen Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor was very realistic and that created a separate impression in the minds of the viewers.

Pritam did a grand job in the film Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. It had been the greatest hit of the career of Ranbir Kapoor. All the songs in the film became super hit. The leading song included “prem ki naiya”, etc. The onscreen chemistry of Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif had made the viewers speechless. The viewers are looking forward to more hit songs in the upcoming films of Ranbir Kapoor in future.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Dilip Kumar played his first double role in bollywood film Ram Aur Shyam. In the late 60s, Dilip Kumar’s performance created a landmark trend which was followed in other bollywood films later on.

Chanakya, the director of Ram Aur Shyam, gave two contrasting characters to Dilip Kumar, one being a docile character, the other one being a smart character. While Ram was savagely beaten by Pran, the brother in law of Dilip Kumar, Shyam took revenge and taught Pran a lesson.

Both the Dilip Kumar’s were emotionally involved with Mumtaz and Wahida Rehman. While the tragic andaz and comedy andaz of Dilip Kumar mesmerized the viewers in the film, the romantic sequences in the film created storms as for the first time shooting was done in Kodaikanal in South India. Rafi’s songs “aye hai baharen dekho zulmo sitam”, “aaj ki raat mere” composed by Naushad, written by Sahir Ludhiyanvi and picturized on Rafi created landmark in bollywood history. All the songs of the film became super hit.

After the success of Ram Aur Shyam, most of the directors were provoked to make films with the same formula. Seeta Aur Geeta in early 70s became super hit with the same formula, Chaalbaaz in the mid-80s did great business with the same formula, and Kishen Kanhaiya in the early 90s did fantastic business. Hema Malini, Sri Devi and Anil Kapoor played the double roles like Dilip Kumar in Ram Aur Shyam.

Dilip Kumar had remained a trend-setter in respect of tragic performances which other actors like Manoj Kumar, Rajender Kumar and Shahrukh Khan had followed. Even if they did not imitate Dilip Kumar, they were influenced by Dilip Kumar. Even character actor Kader Khan was influenced with Dilip Kumar’s style of acting. In respect of type of films where Dilip Kumar played the lead roles, the films had remained trend-setter.Dilip Kumar’s Devdas had been remade a number of time, and whoever played the role of Devdas, they could not resist themselves from following few expressions of Dilip Kumar. Same is the case of Ram Aur Shyam. In the history of bollywood films, the first film which entertained the viewers with double roles of contrasting characters was Ram Aur Shyam and the film had not lost its appeal even today, after 40 years of its date of release. The film and the music should be restored.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Salil Choudhury, noted scholar, poet, composer and literary giant was remembered on his birthday on 19th November, 2009. As he was a versatile scholar, his scholarly attributes were reflected in his creations. He was both the lyricist and the composer and numerous songs sung by legendary singers over 50 years.

His creation “ami parini bujhite parini” and “tumi jaante” for Manobendra Mukherjee were created with two different andaz, one having classical orientation while the other having westernized treatment. His creation “jhanana jhanana baje” and “antabihin oi andharater shesh” for Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya showed his class in handling classical singers.

On the other hand his strength in folk songs were evident in his song “sunayoni sunayoni” sung by Nirmalendu Choudhury and Sabita Choudhury. Nirmalendu became famous all across the world with his folk numbers. Salil Chouhdury huge experiment with Shymal Mitra in songs like “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, “aha oi ankabanka poth jai shudure”, “dur nai beshi dur oi”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, to name a few. In “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, Salil Choudhury’s orchestration was unique, half of the song was blank verse while the other half had musical treatment.

Salil Choudhury created a gem with the song “nil nil pakhi” for Sandhya Mukherjee. Besides, bengal’s literary community were astonished with Salil Choudhury conversion of famous poetry “ujjal ek jhak paira” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee into song. The poet’s feelings were translated into musical tune by sheer brilliance of Salil Choudhury. Other examples of converting legendary poems into songs include “runner” written by Shukanto Bhattacharya and “palki chole” written by Satyendranath Dutta which were sung by Hemanta Mukherjee which both became history. In “runner” the march of the postman on foot from remote corners of village was given adequate expression by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury’s national fame allowed him to do numerous experiments with bollywood singers like Mukesh and Lata. Articles after articles can be devoted to Lata Salil Choudhury creations in Bengali. Mukesh also sung hit song “jhum jhum pakshi nachona” composed by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudury created his masterpieces in Bengali films as well like Shyamal Mitra’s song “onek ghuriya sheshe” in Hrithik Ghatak’s film Bari Theke Paliye, Nirmalendu Choudhury’s song “sojoni o sojoni” and Manna Dey’s “uthali pathali amar buuk” in Rajen Tarafdar’s film Ganga. Besides his song “he bhai re bhai” and “baje go beena” sung by Manna Dey in the film Marjina Abdulla made the listeners speechless. Even Lata’s song “bujhbe na keu bujhbena” was equally popular.

Bimal Roy’s film Do Bigha Zameen was based on Salil Choudhury’s literature. His music in the films Do Bigha Zameen, Madhumati, Musafir, Parakh, Jagte Raho, Anand, Maya, Rajnigandha, etc., stand out as landmarks in Indian film history. He received filmfare award for brilliant performance in the film Madhumati. All the songs in the film including Lata’s “aja re”, “ghari ghari”, Rafi’s “tute hue khwabonme”, “jangal me mor nacha”, Mukesh’s “dil tarap tarap ke”, “suhana safar aur mausam hasin” touched the souls of numerous Indians in the late 50s.

Bengal and India was as a whole was indebted to a maestro like Salil Choudhury and several researches can be undertaken for finding out the history behind his creations. One article is not enough to reiterate the immortal works of the giant creator. The creations should be preserved and restored.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Director Priyadarshan had come up with another hilarious film De Dana Dan, the sequel of Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri. He had used the same team of Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal, whom he had used in the films Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri.

In this film Akshay Kumar had been shown as a butler, cook, personal attendant of rich industrialist in Singapore played by Archana Puran Singh. He had an affair with Katrina Kaif. Akshay Kumar’s friend Sunil Shetty came to Singapore to become rich but ended up being a courier delivery person. He had an affair with Sameera Reddy who was a rich girl but whose parents wanted her to get married to only a rich person.

In the meantime Paresh Rawal, who was a businessman, wanted to get Chunkey Pandey married to Sameera Reddy so that, he can get lot of money in dowry as Sameera Reddy was very rich.

Both Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar planned to kidnap a person to recover ransom. In that way they could get quick cash and impress their girlfriends. But things went wrong just like other Priyadarshan movies and the chaos leads to comedy instances.

Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty again did a brilliant job. The music of Pritam had rocked bollywood even before the film had been released. Some of the hit songs include “paisa” sung by Selina, Manak E, etc., “gale lag ja” sung by Javed Ali and Ban Jyotsna, “hotty naughty” sung by Sunidhi Chauhan.

The exotic location of Singapore is going to create special attention for the viewers. Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy brought out their comedy instincts in style.

As a whole the film is going to be super hit and bring huge revenue to bollywood film industry

Katrina Kaif has a big expectation from the film De Dana Dan. There are few reasons for her expectation. Firstly with the passing of time the viewers question Katrina Kaif’s consistency in providing hit films. Secondly her pair with Akshay Kumar had always given hits including Namaste London, Welcome, Singh is Kinng, etc. So the acceptability of the pair is again questioned.

In response to the first issue, the critics, directors, producers and other involved in the entertainment industry will agree that it is not possible to give hits one after the other. Eminent market strategists like Raj Kapoor even suffered the consequences of flop films like Mera Naam Joker. With change of days, months, years, the tastes of viewers also differ. At one time during Big B’s domination, action films like Sholay, Zanjeer, Deewar, rocked bollywood films. But these days with exceptions most of the action suffers end up being flops.

Although Katrina Kaif acted in hit films one after the other like Race, Partner, Welcome, etc., those films which were released this year got mediocre market like Blue. The performance of Katrina Kaif was not an issue because she got a very small role and the major contribution was made by Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and Lara Dutta. Katrina had learned from bitter experiences that she requires few flop films to let the viewers also know it is inhuman on the part of any actress to give only hits and nothing else. But she bounced back with super hit film Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani with romantic icon Ranbir Kapoor.

Katrina Kaif had one advantage. In face she had acted in the film De Dana Dan, which had been a comedy film. It is a sequel of the films Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri. Both the previous films had been super hits. The combination of Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar had rocked bollywood before.

So there is every possibility of De Dana Dan, being a super hit film. Akshay Kumar had been cast opposite Katrina Kaif, while Sunil Shetty had been cast opposite Sameera Reddy. Let us hope that the film will do great business.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Music lovers all across India remember Shyamal Mitra on his death anniversary on 15th November, 2009. Shyamal Mitra was the one of the leading singers of Bengal during the golden age and for 40 years dominated the world of modern songs and film music along with Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey and Hemant Kumar. His nasal tune, emotional base, high pitch and effortless stretch of voice had remained immortal over the last 50 years. His first song “sriti tumi bedona” was composed by his guru Sudhirlal Chakravarty in the early 50s.

At that time Robin Chatterji, the leading composer of Bengali film music used Shyamal Mitra to sing film songs for Uttam Kumar, the greatest superstar of Bengal, and his songs “amar sapne dekha rajkonya” in the film Sagarika, 1956, “o mon kokhon shuru kokhon je shesh” in the film Kamal Lata, 1969, touched the souls of numerous listeners. Robin Chatterji experimented in the film Deeper Naam Tiya Rong with Portuguese folk music and the songs sung by Shaymal Mitra titled “o amar saat rajari dhaan” and “phiriti basakar kuye giya dishe” made the listeners speechless. The intonation of songs was in rural accent where Shyamal Mitra made an everlasting impact in the minds of the listeners.

Salil Choudhury was moved by the romantic appeal of Shyamal Mitra and used him in Dilip Kumar’s film Musafir with the song “ek aye ek jaye”. His basic discs sung by Shyamal Mitra include “aha oi ankabanka poth” which was remade in hindi titled “aha rimjhim ke” sung by Talat Mehmood, “jodi kichu amare shudhao”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, “dur nail beshi dur oi sajano sajano bokul baner dhare”, etc. By mid-60s Shyamal Mitra became a leading music composer and his composition for Manobendra Mukherjee and himself tilted “dole dodul dole jhulona” in Uttam Kumar’s film Deya Neya in 1963 became super hit.

The notable films where his music was impressive include Bon Palashir Padabali, Raj Konya, Bhranti Bilas, Amanush, Ananda Ashram, etc. Some of the notable songs in Bon Palashir Padabali included “aha mori mori”, “dekhuk para porshite”, “udash bayul”, etc. His song “dil aisa kisi ne mera tora” sung by Kishore Kumar in the hindi film Amanush gave him filmfare award for the best singer. His composition for Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle in the film Anand Ashram titled “sara pyar tumhara” became super hit with the excellent lips of Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore.My father, Ex-Chief Public Prosecutor Chitta Ranjan Chatterji, interviewed Shyamal Mitra in Scottish Church College in 1956, where he participated in a cultural night along with Manobendra Mukherjee and Satinath Mukherjee. Shyamal Mitra reiterated the contribution of Deep Narayan Bitholia in All India Radio who had composed songs under the head of Romyogeeti. His romantic stretch of voice in the song “boujhiuri go” had created a lasting impression in the minds of the listeners. Mr. Chitta Ranjan Chatterji was astonished with the humbleness of Shyamal Mitra who was down to earth and respectful towards his predecessors like Sudhirlal Chakaravarty and Satinath Mukherjee.

Shyamal Mitra’s brother Salil Mitra in TV interview emphasized Shaymal Mitra’s sense of respect towards legendary composer Robin Chatterji. While the shooting of the film Kamallata were taking place in bagan bari in rural West Bengal, Shyamal Mitra was playing badminton with Uttam Kumar. When Robin Chatterji heard his recording of the song “o mon kokhon shuru” he was unsatisfied and questioned Shaymal Mitra’s result of diksha in Naihati as the song lacked emotions in Bengali called “abeg”. Shyamal Mitra returned back and brought out the devotional andaz of his lifetime and Robin Chatterji gifted a perfume as a token of appreciation for the committed singer of Bengal.

His voice suited Uttam Kumar a lot and his songs in the film Sokher Chor, Bhranti Bilas, Rajodrohi, Andha Atit had been landmarks in Bengali film history. He died in the mid-80s after becoming a legend along with Hemanta Kumar, Manobendra Mukherjee and Manna Dey and it is not possible to highlight his achievements in a small article. His songs and films should be restored.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Sushmita Sen on 19th November, 2009. After creating a mark in the fashion world she made notable contribution in films as well. She won the Miss World Crown in the early 90s and at that time remained one of India’s best beauties along with Aishwarya Rai.

She had impressed the viewers with the film Mai Hoon Na opposite Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh Khan came to find his own brother in an educational institution after a long time. Shahrukh Khan fell in love with Sushmita Sen in the film. The online chemistry appealed to the masses. Both of them gave able lips in the song “mai hoon na”. Zaid Khan, Amrita Rao and Sunil Shetty also did very well in the film.

She faced the glamour of Katrina Kaif in the film Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya, opposite Salman Khan and yet impressed the viewers with her unique performance. She was a nurse in the medical clinic of Salman Khan and she was asked to play the role of his first wife to satisfy Katrina Kaif. Salman Khan went on saying lies one after the other and Sushmita Sen had to help him for the wrongful cause. A time came when Sushmita could not bear any more. At the end of the film Salman Khan married her as she really loved him. Sushmita Sen gave brilliant lips in the song “laga laga laga re”.

She even did well in roles of second heroines like the one she played in Salman Khan’s film Bibi No. 1. Salman Khan was married to Karishma Kapoor and he lived with Sushmita after having an affair with her when he went for a foreign visit. When the question came as to upbringing of Salman Khan’s children Sushmita Sen failed miserably. Anil Kapoor and Tabu helped Karishma Kapoor to create ill-feelings of Salman Khan against Sushmita Sen and ultimately the family peace was restored in favour of Karishma Kapoor. The songs picturised on Sushmita Sen and Salman Khan became super hit like “ishq sona hai”, “chunari chunari”, etc.

Sushmita Sen also acted in challenging roles in films like Chingari, which were made for response from critics and Sushmita had shown her acting skills in these types of films. Her other successful films include Aaghaaz, opposite Sunil Shetty, where she played the role of police officer, Zor, opposite Sunny Deol, etc.

Both Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai joined bollywood films more or less at the same time and there was an express competition between both of them as both had come from the fashion world.

Although Sushmita Sen showed her potentiality in many films and the films had done well in box-office, she was not as lucky as Aishwarya Rai in bagging the big banners of Subhash Ghai, Sanjay Leela Banshali, Ram Gopal Verma, etc. Sushmita has also appeared as judges in many dance competitions hosted in different TV Channels in recent years along with other celebrities like Wasim Akram and others.

The viewers still believe that Sushmita Sen has a lot of acting left in her and she can do even better in bollywood films in future including her film relating to Benazir Bhutto.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

The film Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani had been released few days back. Other than impressive performances of Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, the songs composed by Pritam had rocked bollywood.

The film had been directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi with comedy andaz. It was quite different from his other films, although he created a mark in comedy films with the work in Andaz Apna Apna long time back. In that he had used Amir Khan, Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon and Karishma Kapoor to perfection.

In Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani, Ranbir Kapoor’s lips in the song “prem ki nayiya” created a different dimension. The lyrics of the songs were very catchy and the words reached the masses in style. The other songs which had created attention include “jab pyar hota hai”.

“Jab Pyar hota hai” song appeared to have been the most popular song of the film. The audience had felt that the song had not started with the prelude. Both Katrina and Ranbir Kapoor danced very well in the song.

Even the soft numbers in the film appealed to the masses. The song sung by Atif Aslam which was based on Sufiana andaz mesmerized the audience. As a whole, songs of films play a very important role in the success of the films. It had happened with Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani.

That is the reason why the film is doing good business and will follow the success of other hit comedy films with good songs like Shree 420, Chalti Ka Naam Gaari, Ram Aur Shyam, Kohinoor and many other films.

The entire team of Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani deserve the credit for presenting an entertaining film for the viewers.

Friday, November 13, 2009

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Helen on 19th Nov., 2009. She had remained an exceptional dancer and featured in majority of bollywood fllms in the 60s and 70s. She in fact filled in the empty space created by prominent dancer Cuckoo in the 50s.

One of her most memorable films include Gumnaam, where she played the role of one of the few persons who were taken to an isolated island. She was killed along with a number her friends by Tarun Bose in the film who was identified by Manoj Kumar at the end of the film. Her dance number in the songs “hum kale hai to kya hua dilwale hai” and “is duniya me jeena ho to” composed by Shankar Jaikishan were brilliant by every judging standards.

She was put to test in her dance no. in the song “muqabla hum se na karo” in the film Prince along with Shammi Kapoor and Vaijayantimala. She did the western part while Vaijayantimala did the eastern part. Whenever she got a scope of performing opposite Shammi Kapoor her performance used to get a different dimension as he was the only male star in the 60s to dominate bollywood films with rock and roll dance performances.

Both of them did well in the film Teesri Manzil. The song “o haseena zulfonwali” is remembered for the dance of both Helen and Shammi Kapoor. Helen got a villainish role in the film and trapped Shammi Kapoor in a murder case where the actual murderer was Prem Nath.

Helen even got few roles of heroines in the 60s including the role in the film Pyar Hi Pyar where she acted opposite Mehmood, where the main roles were played by Dharmender and Vaiyantimala. Her prominent roles continued in the 70s, including her cameo in the song “piya tu ab tu aja” composed by RD Burman in the film Karwa, her role in the film Sholay, where her dance number in the song “mehbooba mehbooba” amazed the viewers.The villainish roles continued like the one in Big B’s film Don, where her song “yeh mera dil” became a runaway hit. Kareena Kapoor danced in the same item number as that of Helen when the film was remade by Farhan Akhtar, with Shahrukh Khan.

Her other notable films include Mere Jeevan Saathi, Hindustani, Half Ticket, etc. She even acted in character roles in the 90s in films like Akela and Khamoshi. Her performance in the film Khamoshi had been appreciated by all section of viewers. The admirers of Helen expect her to make more contribution in bollywood films in character roles as she has a lot acting still left in her.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Zeenat Aman on 19th November, 2009. She had dominated bollywood films in the 70s.

She created attention with her successful performance in Dev Anand’s film Hare Rama Hare Krishna. She played the role of a girl who became addicted to drugs. She had acted opposite all the leading stars of bollywood films in the mid-70s. Her successful films opposite Big B included Don, Dostana, Lawaarish, etc.

She was extremely successful in Raj Kapoor’s film Satyam Shivam Sundaram. She played the role of a village girl whose face got burned and disfigured. The film was related to the romantic relationship of Zeenat with Shashi Kapoor, who was an urbanized youth. Lata’s songs in the film including “satyam shivam sundaram” require special mention. Zeenat gave able lips in the songs.

In the early 80s Feroz Khan gave a stylish image to Zeenat in the film Qurbani. She played the role of a hotel singer and stormed bollywood with her performance. Her lips in the songs “aap jaisa koi mere zindagi me aye”, “laila ho laila”, etc., in the film Qurbani created sensation. Feroz Khan and Vinod Khanna also gave memorable performances in the film.

In the 80s she acted opposite other stars as well. Her film Abdullah opposite Sanjay Khan did great business. Zeenat was also known for contributing in action films like Shalimaar opposite Dharmender, Don opposite Big B, Ram Balram opposite Dharmender. In all those films the roles required action stunts. Zeenat did show her martial art stunts in the film Don.

Zeenat gave good lips in qawallis as well. One example was in the film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi. She gave lips in Asha Bhosle’s song “hai agar dushman zamana” opposite Rishi Kapoor. Rishi Kapoor gave lips in Rafi’s portion with his own brilliance. Zeenat Aman left films in the mid -80s when she was at the summit of her career. Her films should be preserved.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Shilpa Shirodkar on 20th November, 2009. She was a prominent actress of bollywood films during the 90s.

She had been remembered the most for her performance in the film Gopi Kishen. Sunil Shetty played a double role in the film. Shilpa Shetty played the role of a simple city girl who was married to a funny constable. She delivered her dialogues with broken English and reality created sensation. Karishma Kapoor played the role of the smart girl who was cast opposite the smart Sunil Shetty. Shilpa Shetty in fact balanced the callousness of the character Gopi in the film.

Shilpa Shetty did extremely well in the film Hum opposite Govinda. In that film she played the role of daughter of military major played by Kader Khan. Although she loved Govinda, her father never allowed her to get married to Big B’s family as they were involved with India’s military, air force or naval service. Shilpa Shetty married Govinda against the wishes of her father Kader Khan.

She did a great job in the film Kishen Kanhaiya. Anil Kapoor played a double role in that film. The film was based on the same story line as that of Dilip Kumar’s film Ram Aur Shyam. The twin brothers played by Anil Kapoor had contrasting characters like Dilip Kumar’s characters in Ram Aur Shyam. Shilpa Shetty acted opposite the docile Anil Kapoor who was beaten up by Amrish Puri. Shilpa Shetty had suffered due to the oppression of Amrish Puri in the film.

Shilpa Shirodkar also acted in serious fllms like Prakash Jha’s Mrityudand. She kept her mark opposite Shabana Azmi, Madhuri Dixit and other actresses in the film. Shilpa Shirodkar added weight and stopped acting after 10 years.

The viewers expect her to make a comeback in character roles in future.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Meenakshi Sheshadri on 16th November, 2009. She had been one of the leading actresses of bollywood films of the 80s.

She started her career in Subhash Ghai’s film Hero. Meenakshi acted opposite Jackie Shroff in the film who also started his career with the film Hero. After that Meenakshi acted opposite all the leading actors of bollywood films. She was very successful in the film Meri Jung opposite Anil Kapoor. In that film Anil Kapoor contested against Amrish Puri in a keenly contested case.

Meenakshi was successful opposite Big B in the film Shahenshah. Big B played the role of a police officer who did his duty during the day and attached criminals at night with the name of Shahenshah. Meenakshi acted in successful of Raj Kumar Santoshi one after the other.

She was at her best in the film Damini. In that film she had seen a girl being raped. When she went and testified before the court about the happening she was considered to be an insane person. But she did not care about the allegation and testified before the court about the happening. Sunny Deol and Rishi Kapoor also did extremely well in the film opposite her.

Sunny Deol and Meenakshi formed a deadly combination especially in the films of Raj Kumar Santoshi. Their other hit films included Ghayal and Ghatak which did fantastic business. In Ghayal Meenakshi played the role of a dare devil character, the journalist who did not fear to write the truth related to a corrupted businessman played by Amrish Puri. Sunny Deol was falsely implicated in a case and fled from the jail to kill Amrish Puri. Meenakshi also acted opposite other actors like Vinod Khanna.

Meenakshi also acted in South Indian films. She left films at a time when she was very matured. The viewers expect her to make a comeback in character roles in future.

Monday, November 9, 2009

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to versatile actor Kamal Hassan on 7th November, 2009. He had been a versatile figure both in bollywood films and South Indian cinema.

In the early 80s, his film Ek Duje Ke Liye stormed bollywood. It was a teenage love story where Kamal Hassan and Rati Agnihotri reached their performance to huge number of Indians. Kamal Hassan also showed his exceptional dancing skills in songs like “hum bane tum bane ek duje ke liye”. He followed it up with his brilliant performance in the film Saagar.

In Saagar, Ramesh Sippy experimented with a triangular love story with Kamal Hassan, Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia. The songs of the film composed by RD Burman became super hit. Some of them included “o maria”, “chehera ho”, “saagar kinare”, “jane do na”, etc. Kamal Hassan brought tears in the eyes of his audience through his sacrificing performance as died at the end of the film to save Rishi Kapoor.

From that time onwards he acted in different types of films, both having commercial significance and also art value. He acted in the film Geraftaar opposite Big B and Rajnikant. The viewers remember his comedy film Chachi 420.

Kamal Hassan used all the legendary actors of bollywood in the film Chachi 420 as a director and emerged victorious. Om Puri, Paresh Rawal, Amrish Puri, Tabu were balanced by the brilliant performance of Kamal Hassan himself who played the role of lady Chachi. He took a brilliant make up and created a hilarious script and Om Puri, Amrish Puri, did their best to make the film super hit.

In 2009 also Kamal Hassan came up with ten roles in the film Dasaavatharam. He had acted opposite Asin, Mallika Sherawat and others. He played ten different characters and all the roles were played with different dimensions. Besides he had played many daunting characters in Tamil films and bollywood films like the one in the film Hindustani.

The viewers expect him to show the dynamism in future too as they still know that Kamal Hassan still has a lot of acting left in him.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Deepika had a very quite and silent year in 2009. Deepika Padukone, the daughter of International Badminton player Prakash Padukone, was born on 5th January, 1986. She accomplished her studies from Mount Carmel College in Australia and pursued her career as a super model. She had modeled for famous Indian brands like Limca, Dabur Lal Powder, Close Up Toothpaste and Liril.

She won the Model of the Year award at the Kingfisher Fashion Awards, became one of the models for Kingfisher Swimsuit Calender 2006 and won two awards at the Idea Zee Fashion awards. She became the brand ambassador of Kingfisher Airlines, Levi Strauss, Tissot SA. After impressing the judges of the modeling world she featured in private album Aap Ka Suroor of Himesh Reshamiya. She got one of the biggest breaks of her life in Farah Khan’s film Om Shanti Om.

She astonished the viewers of bollywood films with her all round performance in the film Om Shanti Om which was the first film of her life. Farah Khan’s film ended up being the greatest blockbuster of the year and created a room for Deepika Padukone to be a super star. She acted in a double role, one having an old background with the name Shantipriya, while the other Sandy having similarity with the looks of Shantipriya. The success of the film with the brilliant performance of superstar Shahrukh Khan created the spirit where Deepika Padukone had a greater challenge of balancing the standard in her following films.

Her next film Bachna Aye Haseeno, opposite Ranbir Kapoor created sensation as well. Deepika acted opposite Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba. So she had the additional challenge of balancing their beauty with her own screen presence. Some way or the other she stood out as the leading actress of the film and the film became super hit. The songs “sazde”, “bachna aye haseeno”, etc., composed by Vishal Shekhar became super hit.

But 2009 had been a silent year. Her film Chadni Chowk To China opposite Akshay Kumar flopped. The other film Love Aaj Kal opposite Saif Ali Khan did mediocre business. She has a challenge of giving a hit film very soon before her image is forgotten. The viewers expect her to bounce back in style.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Sharon Stone had remained one of the powerful actresses of Hollywood films and became indispensable in the 90s. Born on March 10th, 1958, Sharon Stone had the craze for films during the time when she lived in Meadville, Pennysylvenia.

In the 70s, Sharon won the crown of Miss Crawford County in Meadville. Then she shifted to New Jersey and worked in Ford Modeling Agency in New York. She featured in advertisements of Burger King, Clairol and Maybelline. She started her acting with the film Stardust Memories in 1980.

But she got proper role in the film Deadly Blessing in 1981. She got a notable role opposite James Caan in the film Les Uns et Les Autres in 1982 as she was discovered by French director Claude Lelouch. In 1984, she also acted in the film Irreconcilable Differences opposite Ryan O Neil, Shelley Long and Drew Barrymore. Her other films in the 80s like Action Jackson, King Solomon’s Mines did mediocre business.

She rose to stardom with the film Total Recall in 1990 opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. She balanced the action skills of Arnold with her own soft style of dialogue delivery. Then she acted in the role of her lifetime of that of Catherine Tramell in the film Basic Instinct. She was a serial killer in the film who was identified by Michael Douglous. She agreed to give bold scenes in the film due to request of the director Verhoeven, specially the scene where the police interrogated her.

Her other hit films of that period included The Quick and The Dead. She received Golden Globe Award for her best performance in the film Casino, opposite Robert De Niro. Her film If These Walls Could Talk 2 in 2002 also created attention. She played the role of a lesbian in the film. Her film Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction was released in 2006 after being held up for litigation purposes. But this time it did not get that amount of attention.

Her films should be restored. The viewers are waiting anxiously for her next releases Satisfaction and The Guest Room this year.

Pamela Anderson had remained as one of the successful actresses of Hollywood films. Born in July 1st, 1967, she became popular before the viewers with her TV serials Baywatch, VIP and Home Improvement.

She was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia. After graduating from Highland Secondary School in 1985, Anderson moved to Vancouver. She decided to model for Playboy Magazine. She went to Los Angeles and bagged the role of CJ Parker in Baywatch.

In 1996, she acted in the film Barb Wire. The film as modeled on the same storyline as that of Casablanca. So it did not get the box-office that was expected. In 2004, she released the book Star, co-written by Eric Shaw Quinn, which was related to the story of a teenager who wanted to become business.

In respect of her Hollywood films, she got scope of mainly thriller films like Snapdragon and Raw Justice in the early part of her career. After showing her potential in the films and TV shows, she was made an automatic choice in the thriller films Raw Justice and Naked Souls. Along with acting she had also shown her acrobatic stunts in these films.

Pamela had also acted in comedy films like Pauly Shore is Dead, Blonde and Blonder. Pamela was also involved in many forms of social work. She had been active member of animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, (PETA). She also received the Linda McCartney Memorial award for animal rights protectors in 2003. Her protest was against the use of fur which was an animal product.

She had married famous drummer Tommy Lee. After divorce with him she married Schenkenberg and then Kid Rock after she got the divorce for the second marriage.

The viewers expect her to storm Hollywood films again with her film Hollywood and Wine in 2009.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Her first film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak became super hit in the late 80s. Her pair with Amir Khan was well accepted by the audience. The songs in the film became very successful. The landmark songs included “aye mere humsafar”, “papa kehte hai” sung by Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik and others. From that time many producers and directors did cast her opposite Amir Khan in many films. Her comedy andaz in the film Ishq opposite Amir Khan was well appreciated. The film did great business.

Juhi Chawla acted in romantic films opposite all the leading actors of bollywood, including Rishi Kapoor in Bol Radha Bol and Eena Meena Dika, Anil Kapoor in Deewana Mastana, Jhoot Bole Kowa Kate, Amir Khan in Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke, to name a few. In the mid-90s she acted in a number of films opposite superstar Shahrukh Khan.

Her major films opposite Shahrukh Khan included Duplicate, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, etc. She started her production house Dreams Unlimited along with Shahrukh Khan and produced many films. One of the hit films included Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. Both Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla acted in the film.

Juhi Chawla also acted in films opposite other actors. Her performance in character roles in the recent times had also impressed the crowds. Some of her recent films included Salaam-E-Ishq opposite Anil Kapoor. She played the role of a middle-aged woman whose husband got attached with another woman.

Juhi Chawla acted in action films like Darr as well. She performed opposite Sunny Deol and Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh Khan acted in a negative role in the film who was killed at the end by Sunny Deol. Juhi Chawla’s dance performance in the film in songs like “tu meri saamne” still haunts the viewers.

The viewers expect Juhi Chawla to continue the quality work in future.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Mala Singh on 11th November, 2009. She had been a legendary actress of bollywood films and contributed in both bollywood films and Bengali films for more than 40 years.

In the 50s, Mala Sinha had acted in classic films like Parvarish, Phir Subah Hogi opposite Raj Kapoor. These films became immortal for their unforgettable songs like “anshu bhari hai”, “woh subah kabhi to ayegi”, etc. Mala Sinha was sublime opposite Dev Anand in the film Love Marriage. The music of the film composed by Shankar Jaikishan was equally grand. The hit songs included “dheere dheere chal”, “kahan ja rahete”, etc.

Mala Sinha contributed well in Guru Dutt’s classic film Pyaasa. The romantic andaz displayed by Mala Sinha was very significant in the film in the songs “hum aapke aankho me”, sung by Rafi and Geeta Dutt. Mala Sinha continued her dream run in the 60s by performing in historical films like Jahanara opposite Bharat Bhushan. The film was a musical block buster. The songs “baad muddar key eh ghari aye”, “kisi ki yaad me”, etc., composed by Madan Mohan created history. The biggest achievement of Mala Sinha lies in sustaining in bollywood industry amidst high competition from other leading actresses like Nargis, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Vaijayantimala, etc.

Mala Sinha also acted with the next generation of actors like Rajender Kumar and Dharmender. Her successful films opposite Rajender Kumar included Dhool Ka Phool, Lalkar and Geet. Her successful films opposite Dharmender included Ankhen, Neela Akash, etc. which did great business. She did very well in films opposite Biswajeet like Night in London and Shammi Kapoor in Dil Tera Diwana.

Mala Sinha played a very long innings in Bengali films as well. Her successful films opposite Uttam Kumar included Khelaghar, Shaharer Itikatha, Bandhu, Putrabadhu, Saathihara, to name a few. Her other notable films include Dhuli, Abhaya Srikanto, etc.

She even featured in modern films in the 90s like Khel where she had played character roles opposite Madhuri Dixit. The viewers expect her to continue in character roles in films in future.

Dr. Souvik Chatterji

Master of Law from Warwick University, Coventry,UK

Received Doctorate Degree in Philosophy of law from National Law University, Jodhpur after submitting PhD Thesis in Law in National Law University, Jodhpur on the topic “Treatment of Cartels in India and USA”.